Rip Current, Guam
- When
- April 21, 10:30 PM GST to 11:00 PM GST
- Where
- Guam forecast zone
- Deaths
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- Newspaper
Rip Current in Guam, April 21, 2010
About 2230 GST the evening of April 21st, three men in their 30s who were spear fishing off the east coast of Guam in Togcha Bay near Talofofo were caught in and separated by strong rip currents. One of the men made it to shore and called for help, but the other two were pulled under and drowned.
The toll
- Deaths
- 2
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS GUM wrote it up.
About 2230 GST the evening of April 21st, three men in their 30s who were spear fishing off the east coast of Guam in Togcha Bay near Talofofo were caught in and separated by strong rip currents. One of the men made it to shore and called for help, but the other two were pulled under and drowned. After an extensive search over the next few days, only one body was recovered.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Guam wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 21, 5:39 AM UTC, 6 hours 51 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 21, 5:39 AM UTC, 6 hours 51 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TIYAN GU 339 PM CHST WED APR 21 2010 .SYNOPSIS... VAD WIND PROFILE INDICATES ABOUT 5 KNOTS SHAVED OFF THE WINDS FROM YESTERDAY. SATELLITE SHOWS PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES UPSTREAM FROM THE FORECAST ZONES WITH RADAR INDICATING A FEW TOKEN SHOWERS. SATELLITE ALSO SHOWS VIGOROUS CONVECTION IN CHUUK STATE AS FAR NORTH AS 11N...BUT SHORT-TERM MODEL GUIDANCE AND SATELLITE LOOPS SUGGEST A STRONG SUBTROPICAL RIDGE WILL KEEP VIRTUALLY ALL OF THIS MOISTURE FROM ENCROACHING ON GUAM. ONE POSSIBLE WRINKLE IN THE FORECAST COULD BE POSSIBLE CIRRUS BLOW OFF FROM THE CONVECTION DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...BUT BELIEVE STRONG SUBSIDENCE OVERHEAD SHOULD RESTRICT CIRRUS COVERAGE ENOUGH FOR PARTLY CLOUDY WORDING TO SUFFICE IN THE FORECAST. && .DISCUSSION... FORECAST GRIDS STILL LOOK VERY BLAND WITH RIDGING AND UPPER-LEVEL SUBSIDENCE FIRMLY IN CONTROL THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. FIRE WEATHER IS NOW THE PRIMARY CONCERN BUT 10-HOUR FUEL MOISTURE READING FOR TODAY WAS 16...SO LOOKS LIKE AT LEAST SEVERAL DAYS OF DRYING REQUIRED TO REDUCE FUEL MOISTURES TO CRITICAL LEVELS. SATELLITE AND RADAR IMAGERY SUGGEST SLIGHT CHANCE POPS PERSISTING INTO TONIGHT. DID NOT TRY TO SPLIT HAIRS HOWEVER...SO FOLLOWED FORECAST CONTINUITY FROM THE PREVIOUS SHIFT AND LET ISOLATED POPS COMMENCE AT SUNSET. && .MARINE... MARINE SWELL GRIDS IN GOOD SHAPE AS WINDS AND SEAS GRADUALLY SUBSIDE. MODERATE RIP RISK LEVEL SURF WILL CONTINUE ON NORTH AND EAST FACING REEFS FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. && .EASTERN MICRONESIA... A WET TRADE-WIND PATTERN PERSISTS. SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW CONVECTIVE CLOUDS WIDESPREAD ACROSS POHNPEI AND KOSRAE STATES...AND SPREADING NORTHWESTWARD TOWARD 10N150E...WHILE SCATTERED SHOWERS WERE FOCUSED ALONG 5N EASTWARD ACROSS THE SOUTHERN MARSHALL ISLANDS TO THE DATE LINE. WINDSAT ANALYSIS INDICATES TRADE-WIND CONVERGENCE WAS DRIVING THE CONVECTION. UPPER-LEVEL DIVERGENCE WAS ALSO HELPING...ESPECIALLY HELPING SPREAD CONVECTION FARTHER NORTHWARD. MOST MODELS INDICATE THIS PATTERN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH NEXT WEEK. MUCH NEEDED SHOWERS WILL HOPEFULLY SPREAD ACROSS ATOLLS OF THE NORTHERN RMI DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. && .WESTERN MICRONESIA... WET TRADE WINDS DOMINATE WEATHER AT CHUUK AND CONDITIONS WILL BE SIMILAR TO POHNPEI AND KOSRAE THROUGH THE LONGER TERM. MEANWHILE... DRIER WEATHER PERSISTS AT PALAU AND YAP DURING THE NEAR TERM... BUT MOST MODELS ARE INDICATING THAT ACTIVE WEATHER WILL MOVE WESTWARD FROM EASTERN MICRONESIA DURING THE NEXT FEW DAYS...SO GRADUALLY WETTER WEATHER IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AT YAP AND PALAU LATER IN THE FORECAST. && .GUM WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... GU...NONE. MARIANAS WATERS...NONE. && MCELROY/SIMPSON/AYDLETT
Event by event
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rip Current, Guam | 2010-04-21 | Male | In Water | Direct | |
| Rip Current, Guam | 2010-04-21 | Male | In Water | Direct |
What these are
- Rip Current
- A narrow, fast current flowing away from the beach that caused a drowning or rescue.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Utah, April 21, 2010
- Winter Weather in Colorado, April 21 to 22, 2010
- Tornado and Hail in Colorado, April 21, 2010
- Hail in Colorado, April 21, 2010
- Hail in Texas, April 21, 2010
- Dust Storm and High Wind in Arizona, April 21, 2010
- Hail in Texas, April 21, 2010
- Winter Weather in Utah, April 21 to 23, 2010
- Waterspout in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, April 21, 2010
- Hail in Maine, April 21, 2010
- Dust Devil in Hawaii, April 21, 2010
- Damaging Wind in Idaho, April 21, 2010
More
Every storm in Guam in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Guam, April 2010
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 225233.